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Will 'Dark Souls 2' Be A Prequel Or A Sequel?

The Dark Souls 2 trailer contradicts itself when it claims that you are an undead “forever without light.” What does it mean?

So there’s been much debate and speculation over whether Dark Souls 2 will be a prequel or a sequel to the events in the original Dark Souls.

The trailer has some clues that could point in either direction. For instance, the narration in the trailer says that you are “forever without light” which is a pretty clear nod to the Age of Dark, the eventual outcome whether or not you choose the Dark Lord ending or link the bonfires. Eventually, we know, the fire will fade and the Age of Dark will begin.

So it’s possible that the game is a sequel, set sometime in the future in a time “forever without light” or hope.

That being said, there’s pretty clearly both light and fire in the trailer. In scenes where we stare out at what I presume to be the back side of Anor Londo (a portion of the city we see but never visit in Dark Souls) the sky is the same color as the perpetual sunset over Anor Londo in the first game.

Meanwhile, there’s scenes of lava rivers that don’t look much like Lost Izalith, but that certainly point to a time when fire still exists in the world. So, the Age of Fire may not yet be over in Dark Souls 2, meaning this could very easily be a prequel rather than a sequel.

My latest theory is that it’s neither. The handful of dragons, the illusory sunset over Anor Londo, the last molten gasps of the Age of Fire, the onset of darkness and the flight of hope from the world—these are all things going on in the original Dark Souls. This is a description of the game in the present, neither after nor before the events that transpire in the first Dark Souls.

In other words, judging solely by this trailer alone, it seems likely that the second Souls game takes place at the same time as the first, only not in Lordran but in some other land or wilderness. Perhaps it is a journey toward the dying city of the gods, or perhaps it is some other story entirely that simply takes place during the same moment of despair.

This, I think, could open the doors wide for all sorts of new information while not explaining the outcome of either game any better and while leaving the more distant past still shrouded in mystery, though perhaps less so as we uncover new clues and lore in our ongoing archaeological expedition into this digital heart of darkness.

Also, I like this trailer. I think the music is just fine. I do wonder where my beloved shields are, though.

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It could be all of the above, being able to travel though time and interact with the past is a possibly that has been raised though the Artorias of the Abyss DLC and with Dusk herself.

SOME SPOILERS FOR THE DLC

After you rescue Dusk, her present self tells you how Artorias rescued her centuries ago from creatures of the abyss and while describing him to your character, says this, “But even still, there was something about Artorias… A certain balance of the humours… …That quite perfectly fits your semblance.”

Which could mean that you either changed the past, or more likely, that it was you all along.

Could also mean she thinks everyone resembles Artorias.

END DLC SPOILERS

Another way they could do it, is by just following your character though the natural progression of time. Any undead is essentially immortal as long as they keep their humanity. They could use the Demon’s Souls hub level select system, but instead of just going to different places you go to different Ages.

The Age of Dragons- – - – -The Age of the Chosen Undead- – - – -The Age of Dark

With room for whatever they want to put in between. Sadly that method would leave cause things to be more disjointed, and we’d be missing out on having one big almost seamless world, à la Dark Souls.

I remain hopeful that From will blow this one out of the water and use ideas that put mine to shame. heh

Dusk could easily mistake you for Artorias because she saw you fight Magnus with Sif. Since Sif and Artorias are a well known pair and Elizabeth says she will keep your involvement a secret, it is not surprising that she made the mistake.

this is my conclusion of the dark souls and its endings(Warning contains some serious ranting),

You saw the suffering of the poeple and what the fire did to them (here’s looking at you witch of izalith,Anastacia of Astora,and all those who succumbed to madness) You have just beaten the boss and the fire is no more now you can choose whenever you link the fire by burning yourself to asches or bring change to this world and start a new age of dark (the age of dark does not mean there wont be any light however there will still be lava and the sun and all that there just wont be any bonfires and all undead will probably die.

also there is a small chance that either of the willy nilly sepents arent so nice and has been tricking you(even thro there is no real evindence of wich one is bad or good)

it is unclear if the age of dark is better then the age of fire and its unclear if incinerating yourself and lighting the fire again will make the bonfires disapear and lift the duty of the fire keepers.(there is some suspicion of it mostly because of this:

Frampt has told me of you… … That you have agreed to link the Fire. … I thank you, sincerely. … Finally, the curse of the Undead will be lifted, and I can die human. … I am powerless, but I will do all that I can. … Please, save us all… … Please…

The change that has to come can be good or bad its not really stated what’s next also the darkstaltker serpent wants you to become the dark lord and has probably tricked/helped the poeple of oolacile by unleashing the abyss but in the end the poeple them selfs tormented/misused it and you know its gone berserk.

So my conclusion is that i dont have a conclusion and that the ending is up to your interpretation and imagination but, if the next game is an Sequel it will probably be from the dark lord ending (that explains the forever without light part)

Well, thats it, thats all ive got anyway the new game has dragons and that women looks awfully like the the girl from the cemetery in the beginning cutscene of the game(she probably isnt but its nice to fantasise)

So Eric what’s the ending that makes the most sense to you would love to hear it and keep up the good work.

Man, I am loving these Dark souls discussions. I know I have stated that I thought it would be a prequel, but having heard so many other ideas now, I have no clue what it will be.

I thought it would be hard to be a sequel at first, but it could by made to ignore the decision of the player. Maybe the age of fire was still a fading era, because the player became the dark lord, thus ending it. Or when the player extending it, it didn’t really do much? Anyway, there are possibilities, but I think the would all result in the next being in the Age of Dark, if it is a sequel.

If it is a Prequel, it would be more of the Knight Artorias DLC style, familiar areas that have been age reversed. We could see Knight Artorias and younger Sif at the start of their journey, allowing us to experience Artorias before his corruption. I would hope to see the 4 Knights of Gwyn interacting with each other in some way, or even their relationship with Gwyn, Maybe accompanying them in a boss fight (similar to being able to summon puppy Sif for Magnus in the new DLC). Could see Magnus before his corruption… so many possibilities really.

Erik now brings up the interesting possibility of the next game taking place at the same time. Which could expanded Catarina, it is stated in the armor set that “Outside Catarina, they are often ridiculed for their onion-like shape, infuriating the proud knights” so Catarina is a place and an order. It would basically be expanding upon the outskirts of the dark souls universe.

Anyhow, all the ideas honestly sound intriguing to me. Being Greedy, I actually want all of them

I’m hoping it’s not a sequel because then they would have to decide upon a canon ending unless they somehow manage to write the story in a way where one can interpret it either way. I wouldn’t mind a prequel but why call it Dark Souls 2 if it is such? If it’s set on the same world then maybe it is occurring at the same time as the first game. Perhaps each Dark Souls game will have the recurring themes of being undead but will be unconnected with each other. Either way I’m sure that that lout Patches will show up along with the Moonlight sword (another recurring element from From Software’s King’s Field series).

They likely would not have to decide on a canon ending, as in the end of the game, whether you extinguished the fire yourself or grasped onto the few remaining embers, the fire supposedly went out, it could be set long enough afterwards that the fire went out despite the original undead’s choice. Assuming that it is a sequel, the way the story could be introduced would be that “In the end the lord of sunlight’s best efforts were in vain, and the world plunged into the age of darkness”

In regard one of the original questions raised on this page, “how can fire still exist if that age is over”, plenty of elements aside from fire existed in Dark Souls 1, plus there were several dragons and drake-like creatures, (Seathe, Kalameet, and the Fire-kite, to name a few) though their age ended, presumably long before the first game began.

It could be a prequel, sequel, or same time frame storyline, Personally I would enjoy seeing the age of darkness most of all, if only to feel the effects of the previous game’s events. Whatever the result, we all know some things for sure, It will be full of well-told stories, some raising more questions than they answer, areas that you’ll want to explore just to see, and above all, challenging enemies, scenarios, and bosses that will require thought and skill to beat.

I love the minimalistic story telling that Dark Souls does. Even now, there are still debates about the storyline and its characters in the game. This game can go in many directions in its plot and I’m very excited about it. I wouldn’t be surprised that it would still be unknown if its a prequel/sequel even a year after the release. Why I think it’s a prequel is because it could happen during the fight between Gwyn and the dragons. With all the dragons and wyverns seen in the trailer. I find it hard to believe that its a sequel, because only a few dragons survive during the Age of Fire. So their existence is rare. Not to mention, the trailer depicts an area (the one with the bridge and wyverns flying around) looks a LOT like the Painted World of Ariamis. In Dark souls, the world is an optional place to explore which Priscilla the halfbreed dragon was banished to the world why clutching onto the peculiar doll. In my head, I imagine that you save the young Priscilla from both dragons and humans. and your character gives her a doll which she finds comfort in because it reminded her of your character. tl;dr- i think the game takes place during the war between lord gwyn and the dragons. and your character venturing from Astora to a location depicted as the Painted World of Ariamis from Dark Souls. Why? I think he/she is trying to find an alternative way to end the Age of Ancients, to compromise between the dragons and humans. Inspired to this after meeting with the halfbreed Priscilla, the illegitimate child of a human and a dragon. For all we know, we could be Oscar of Astora. The knight you meet in the Undead Asylum. Or we could be that corpse that you meet in the cell where your character first start in Dark souls. The one that holded the peculiar doll

Irony, when done well and with sincerity, can seem literal to a casual reader. This article is brilliant irony. It is imo an attempt by the author to capture in a review the essence of the Dark Souls experience. Its reverential tone, its obtuse references, its meandering needlessly long sentences, all reflect the experiential essence of the game itself. In other words, this post is truly a love letter to the Dark Souls experience, though it also reminds us that the experiences of love and hate frequently go together. Anyone doubting this, anyone taking its “worst game ever” as a literal comment, need only note the author spent 300-400 hours in DS1 alone. This alone flags the title as ironic reflection rather than a literal statement

99% of past and present games is matter of combat/kill/destroy. So I’d not review a game taking in count this aspect.

You miss all points of interest about Dark Souls series, above all in a scenario where most of the games lacks of any true balanced combat system that relays on player ability and not just character skills.

They give to us a set of character skills that become effective if player has good playing capabilities only.